FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions.
Q: Why isn't my name on the list?
The list of names from the census bureau isn't complete. For privacy reasons, names with relatively few responses were not included in the list. We used this data to create this site. Our site can only be as good as the data we have to work with.- Around 1 out of every 10 people will have a last name not on the list.
- Around 1 out of every 10 people will have a first name not on the list.
"I think it's important not to take it as a rejection of you personally." Gabriel Caine -- Diggstown.
Q: Does the program really know how many people have the same name as me?
No. The program returns an estimate based on available data. It should be considered a "ballpark figure". It will usually return an answer in the right general area, but the chances of the figure being exactly right are very low.
A full discussion of the accuracy of the program may be found here.
Q: Why do you only include the U.S.?
The data we have comes from the U.S. Census Bureau's 1990 census. For some reason, they felt it wise to only include data from the United States.
Q: Why don't you add feature X?
Things are pretty busy here. This site should be considered a work in progress. We have a number of features and enhancements we want to add. We've released the site in its current state because the basic underlying features work. We have a nasty perfectionist streak. If we had waited until everything was "perfect" and every feature was done the site would never have been released.
That said, we always like to hear from people who have ideas for making the site better. If you have an idea, let us know.
Q: Do you share user search data / e-mails with third parties?
Our full privacy policy is here.
The short version: "No."
The somewhat longer version: We don't want your personal information. We collect as little as is feasible, keep it as short a time as possible, and other than in the form of statistics based on all searches don't share it with anyone.